This tag highlights content related to economic systems, trends, and impacts — including topics such as macroeconomic analysis, financial markets, economic policy, and sustainable growth.
Estonia is named the most prosperous country in Eastern Europe, and the 21st globally, in the newly-released 2023 Legatum Prosperity Index. Legatum’s 16th annual survey praises the Baltic country’s “effective policy response” to Covid, which meant “Estonia’s pandemic-period contraction was one of the smallest in Europe”, and
Annual inflation in the EU was 10% in January, according to the latest report from EU statistics office Eurostat. Of the 12 countries with inflation rates above the EU average of 10%, 11 were from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), with the highest annual inflation rates found in Hungary (26.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban criticized the EU for imposing new sanctions instead of providing assistance and for depriving Hungary and Poland of the recovery funds they were entitled to, in his annual “state of the nation” speech in Budapest on Sunday, 19 February. Standing in front of a sign
Leaders from the Baltic nations and Poland have called for the utilization of approximately EUR 300bn worth of assets from the Russian Central Bank currently frozen by EU member states, towards the reconstruction of Ukraine. In a joint letter to to European Council President Charles Michel, European Commission President Ursula
So often the exemplar in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), Estonia has been named the region’s most transparent country in the annual Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), released by the NGO on Tuesday, 31 January. In 2022, Estonia placed 14th globally, with a CPI score of 74,
Standard & Poor’s (S&P) downgraded Hungary’s credit rating by one step to the lowest investment grade of BBB- on Friday, partly due to Hungary’s current struggles in accessing some EUR 30bn of EU funding. The credit ratings agency also pointed to the negative effects of
Hungary has finalised a deal to acquire Vodafone Europe’s Hungarian unit for HUF 660bn (EUR 1.6bn) in the largest state purchase since the change of regime in 1990. The Hungarian state made the deal through its holding company Corvinus, which has obtained a 49% stake, while government-linked company
The three Baltic countries are the worst hit by the wave of inflation in Europe, according to the latest flash estimate from the EU’s official statistics agency Eurostat. Latvia currently has the highest inflation in the Eurozone, as prices rose 20.7% year-on-year in December, slightly higher than in
The EU last year attempted to address the erosion of perceived democratic norms of the populist governments of Hungary and Poland, by withholding a combined EUR 138bn in funding from the two states. After this unprecedented move, 2023 will be the year when the EU decides on whether to make
Czechia received near universal acclaim as it completed its stewardship of the presidency of the Council of the EU, which will now be led by Sweden. Leading Czech daily Denik N, wrote that Czechia had “grown up” during its tenure, which ran from July to December 2022. EC officials give
The Council of the European Union adopted legislation Friday on releasing funds for Hungary’s EUR 5.8bn Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) plan that had been frozen for 18 months, dependent on the country meeting 27 anti-corruption and judicial reforms. Hungary’s steps have so far failed to convince
The centre-right New Unity party, led by Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins, finalised a coalition deal with the new centrist electoral alliance United List and the conservative populist National Alliance, on Wednesday, 14 December. The parties will hold 54 of the 100 seats in the seven-party Saeima, which voted 54-37
Next year the EU will provide Ukraine with EUR 18bn, circumventing Hungary’s veto, the Council of the European Union announced on Saturday. The loan to the war-torn country is aimed at short-term repairs of critical infrastructure and longer-term post-war reconstruction with an eye on future European integration. Czech Finance
Croatia will become the Schengen zone’s newest member on 1 January, the Council of the EU announced on Thursday, 8 December. Croatia will “take two important steps in its European integration, by joining both the euro and the Schengen areas”, noted Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan, whose country has
Croatia has decided to introduce compulsory shop closures on Sundays, Croatian Employment and Family Minister Marin Piletic told reporters after a cabinet meeting on Thursday, 1 November. “The law will allow retail staff to spend Sunday with their families,” Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said. According to the proposed amendments